Every Friday The Psychogenealogist shares a "Pic of the Week." The intent is to encourage thought and imagination about the spaces where psychology, genealogy, and history converge.
This week we have another very old cabinet card portrait of a youngish, mustachioed man. It was in a lot of about 15 random other photographs from eBay. The only clues I have are on the photo.
The back is labeled. Some of it is cut off, but my best guess is that it is labeled as: "Henry H. Roberts, Rock Stream, Yates Co, N.Y."
Sure enough, a quick search on Ancestry turned up a Henry H. Roberts who was born around 1853. Here is a listing for him on the 1860 U.S. Federal Census. He is listed as living in Reading, New York, which is a town just south of Rock Stream.
There are many other documents on ancestry that appear to relate to this man. There are also several other family trees there that have him listed.
After scrolling through some of this information here are some educated guess about the details of his life:
- He was born Henry Hurd Roberts (his mother's maiden name was Hurd).
- He was born around 1853 and died on June 27, 1914 at the age of 61.
- He moved to Maryland at some point with his family.
- He graduated from Cornell University in 1875 and became a teacher.
Here is his obituary in the Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, New York)
Henry Hurd Roberts obituary - Ithaca Journal (NY) 7/11/1914
Using a simple google search I also discovered this 2012 article in the Cornell Alumni Magazine that appears to be written by Henry's grandson, James Henry Roberts. It is on page 8 of the September/October issue.
The photos are a little tricky to compare (e.g., no mustache in the second photo, different angle), but I think there is convincing evidence that this is in fact the same man. His facial features and bone structure seem remarkably similar. The fact that they are both labeled as Henry H. Roberts seals the deal for me.
You be the judge! What do you think? Most of the votes on the Facebook post below say yes, although there are some nays. Check the comments to see what others are saying.
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